Romans 13

Brethren, I have used the Preachers Outline and Sermon Bible Commentary, as well as the Life Application Bible Commentary, for the preparation of the message today. Should you ever want to get some really good tools for your computer at home, I would certainly highly recommend both the Preachers Outline and Sermon Bible Commentary and the Life Application Bible Commentary.

Today we want to go through Romans 13. We've now been in Romans since December. A lot happening in the month of January, and we have need of going to do other things in terms of discussions. But I want to return back to Romans 13. We've been making our way, verse by verse, through the book. Today we'll go through chapter 13, and then we'll take a session each for chapter 14 and chapter 15 in the next two months.

And then we need to select something else after that. You can certainly give me your input as to what you would like to see me go through in these studies. I try to do this once a month during a sermon time to go through verse by verse through a book. I'm heavily leaning toward going through the book of Deuteronomy next, which would probably be about a two-year program, just like Isaiah was. But you can let me know what's in your mind. Let me give you just a very brief background as to where we are with the book of Romans. In terms of the purpose, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to give a complete and a detailed statement of the gospel message.

A complete and detailed statement about the gospel message. The theme of the book is found in the first chapter, verses 16 and 17, where it says, The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.

Paul was writing to the people and the headquarters city of the mightiest empire the world had ever seen to that point, at least the mightiest empire in the European area. I guess there would be some who would look at the Mayans and their empire and say that was better and longer lived, but whatever. In terms of what happened in Europe and Asia, this was a tremendous empire. Paul was writing to the people right there in the headquarters city of Rome. In the first 11 chapters of the book, the Apostle Paul shows God's mercy to sinners, in that we have a sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who came to die so our sins could be forgiven.

That's chapters 1 through 11. Starting in chapter 16 and going through the end of the book, chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, those chapters now show our obligation. We've had Christ forgive us of our sins, and we've come to God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Now, how should we live? What do we do with that opportunity that we've been given by God the Father and Jesus Christ? That brings us to chapter 13 of the book of Romans. I do want to spend some time, and we're only going to go through chapter 13.

It's a relatively short chapter. We will be going through other areas of the Bible as background, and I'd like to start doing that right now. Paul discusses in verses 1 through 7 how we should relate to government, how the Christian should relate to government. I thought it's really interesting that we're here in the book of Romans right at this point when we're seeing all the things that are happening there in the Middle East and Egypt.

But how should we as Christians relate to our government wherever we are as Christians, whether in this country or other countries around the world? Now, as some deep background here so you have a better feeling for why Paul's going to say what he's about to say, before the spread of Christianity, Judaism was permitted as a religion in the Roman Empire.

It was protected by Roman law, and although Jewish observances and practices were generally safeguarded, at any time in the Roman Empire, if they took a disliking to you, they can put out an edict and you would be in harm's way. In 19 AD, all the Jews were expelled from Rome by the Emperor Tiberius. And as the way life goes, after a while, after some years, some of the Jewish people began filtering back into Rome, and by 50 AD, there was another expulsion of Jews from Rome.

Let's take a look at Acts chapter 18 there, in that regard. Acts chapter 18. This actually touches on what we've been covering in our in-home Bible study. We're going through the book of 1 Corinthians, and this last week in Troy, our Troy Bible study, we were talking about the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, referring to maybe as good as some people don't get married. Well why would the Apostle Paul say that? Well, let's take a look.

Paul is here in Acts chapter 18. Paul is in Corinth. Verse 1, After these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. Verse 2, when he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. We believe this took place in 50 AD. Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians in 55 AD. Here you have in the relatively recent past two of these purges, at least expelling the Jews from Rome, in recent memory.

Paul was probably concerned that maybe there would be some sort of pogrom or something like that against Christians, reviewed as Jews. And so that may be one of the reasons why Paul gave the advice he did in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 about not marrying.

During the rest of the first century, after the death of Christ, Christianity was regarded by Rome as a sect of Judaism. Now, you and I can pass right by that statement and not understand or really catch the significance. Why would Christianity be regarded by Rome as a bystander? Rome looks at all sorts of religions. Why would they view Christianity as a sect of Judaism? Because we kept the Sabbath, the Holy Days, tithing, food laws. People would say, oh, those things were done away. Well, somebody better tell the Roman Empire that, because they didn't catch that.

As the Roman Empire looked at Christians, they saw people who they thought were Jews, the way they were living their lives. But another issue that Paul wants to deal with, and the reason he's writing what he's writing there in Romans chapter 13 about government, is because Christianity was suspect as being seditious, as being contrary to the laws of the Roman Empire.

So Paul, when he's writing, he wants to let the brethren in Rome know, we can bring literally hell on earth down on our necks if we're not careful. Let's take a look at some other scriptures. Let's look at Mark chapter 15. Again, we want to put ourselves in the context of where the apostle Paul is and why he's commenting the way he is in Romans 13. Mark chapter 15 verse 26, Mark 15, 26. And the inscription of accusation was written above, the king of the Jews. Rome looked upon Christianity and its founder, Jesus Christ, he was the king of the Jews.

Rome didn't really like that idea of people talking about other kings and allegiances to other kings. So the founder of Christianity, the sect, was crucified as the king of the Jews. So in that sense, already Christianity is off on a slippery slope. If we go over here to Acts chapter 17, Acts chapter 17, we're going to see that Christians had been accused of defying Caesar, of proclaiming rules and laws that weren't fit for the Roman Empire.

No empire wants that. Every empire wants its laws and its rules to be implemented and kept. Acts chapter 17 verse 6, But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren to the rulers of the cities, crying out, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too. No empire wants its empire turned upside down. Jason had harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus.

So once again, in terms of the way the Roman government was looking at Christians, was suspect. So Christians had to be very careful how they responded. Over here in Acts chapter 16, another example. We've got this young lady who was able, as we see in verse 16, Acts 16, 16, Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with the spirit of divination met us, who brought her master as much profit by fortune-telling. So you drop down a little bit, verse 20, And they brought them to the match-strakes, and said, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city.

And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe. So again and again, Christianity was on a slippery slope when it came to the eyes of the Roman Empire. I'm not going to turn there, but in your notes you might want to jot down Acts chapter 19, verses 23 through 41, where in Ephesus the same thing happened again. Business people, in this case silversmiths who made a living off of developing and making idols, were threatened by Christianity. When Paul came in and talked about, we don't worship these idols, we don't have anything to do with these idols, then again a tremendous uproar took place.

So in Romans chapter 13, the Apostle Paul urges believers to be careful in their relationship with the governing authorities. We're already on a slippery slope. We want to have peaceful lives. We want to conduct a work. We want to get the Word of God out. But if we're having to keep our heads down like gophers and holes because of persecution, we won't be able to do that. Now for those of us who are living today as modern day readers of the Bible, we have to appreciate that the best strategy we have is to live within the structure and take advantage of the structure we find ourselves in.

I wish I could remember the exact number, but I think it was last week or the week before there was a little blurb in the news on television talking about the growth of Christianity in China. I forgot, it was a significant number of people in China who were accepting Christianity. I think it was like 20%. I mean, it was really an astounding number for China.

The idea being, both from the Apostle Paul's sake and what people find out in any society where it's a totalitarian sort of regime, that Christianity is going to flourish. But it's better to flourish if you don't have the government on your neck trying to stamp you out. Okay. That is some background. I wanted to give you that background so we have a better appreciation. Now let's turn to Romans 13. Romans 13. Verse 1, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Does that mean Joseph Stalin? Does that mean Adolf Hitler? Does that mean Ede Amin? First things first. Paul says here, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. To be subject means to be submissive. Submissive means to cooperate, to be loyal, to be willing to obey. Now we're going to get into the idea here, and just a little bit so be patient, we're going to get into the idea of what if the government is contrary to the laws of God.

We'll get into that in a little bit. Where the government is, and they have laws that are not contrary to God's laws, God wants us to cooperate, to be loyal, and be willing to obey. Again, within the laws of God. So Paul is giving these people some very wise words as they are living within the massive structure of the Roman Empire. It wouldn't take much for them to get on the Roman Emperor's bad side, and they needed to be rendered where they would be expelled from the whole of the empire. So Paul says, let's do what we can. God has put these people in charge.

Let's do what we can to play ball with them. Now Paul doesn't recommend here a couple of courses of action that we as human beings like to take. Why did the Apostle Paul not condemn slavery? He didn't condemn it. Not at all. He told slaves to be better slaves. He didn't condemn it. And let's understand something. In the Roman Empire, you could be white or black or whatever and be a slave. As I mentioned on occasion, when I think about my family living within 100 miles of Rome, I probably had a number of generations of my family and times gone by that were white slaves.

But the Bible, even though slavery is to be condemned, Paul didn't do it why? Why is that? Well, again, be patient and we'll get through that. But Paul here, there's two things that Paul didn't want the brethren in Rome to do. Number one, he doesn't want them to become zealots. There were a group of Jewish rebels who often used violence in fighting for freedom from Rome.

Paul was not calling to go to arms here, just as Jesus Christ did not do. Christ said, you know, this is not of my kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world. If it were so, my servants would fight. So Christ himself said, no, let's not do the military option here. We don't want that. But a second option that Paul is not recommending, he's saying, look, I don't want you folks to just go and develop some commune out in the wilderness someplace where you can grow your own veggies and make your own whatever and you just kind of live off by yourselves.

Paul is not recommending that course of action either. He's saying you live in that society in which God has called you and you'd be a good citizen under the laws of God in that society. Now, there's some lessons here for us to learn and we've not even gone through the whole of the verse yet.

But I want to pause here for a moment and talk about a lesson to be learned. The lesson of being submissive. This is not a lesson just for ladies. This is a lesson for all Christians. We all need to learn submission. We learn that God puts us in various positions in our lives to learn submission. Are we learning it? Because, brethren, if we don't learn proper submission in the areas of life that are, let's say, physical or of a worldly nature, then how do you know you're being submissive spiritually? As an example, depending upon your circumstance, you may be called upon to submit to a family member. Maybe you're a wife and you were called to submit to your husband. But as we've talked about in the past, husbands need to be submissive to their wives in certain areas of life, too. Are we being submissive in the areas we should be submissive in? Maybe it's a matter of where you go to school. Maybe it's a matter of where you go to work. Are we being submissive to our employer, to those around us? If we're not, how do we know we're being submissive to God?

If we're not being submissive in these physical things, how do we know if we're being submissive in the spiritual ones? There are plenty of principles in the Bible. I don't have time to quote them all where God says, since you were faithful and little, I will give you much.

But right now, there are many things in our life that we need to be submissive in regards to.

And the question I ask myself, the question you need to ask yourself, is how are we doing?

How are we doing with that? How well am I submitting to the various authorities that are over me in my life? How well am I able to separate issues of authority from the matters like personal differences? Do we say to ourselves, because I've got a difference of opinion from this guy, I don't need to submit to him? Or because this person always calls me names I don't need to submit to that person? Or because this person is a real pill and it's on my last nerve? I don't need to be submissive to that person? Is that the way it works? Do we find that principle any place in the Bible? Or is the Bible talking about how we need to learn submission? In what specific ways can you or I demonstrate respect for the authorities that are over us at this time? We can learn how to submit to God by submitting to those whom God has placed in authority over us. If we can't submit again under the laws of God, if we can't do that, then we're going to be in bad shape. How can we be kings and priests and rulers in the world tomorrow if we're not going to be submissive now? Wouldn't we be much like the one who was called Lucifer, who didn't want to submit? God doesn't want that. Now, we go back to Romans chapter 1 because there is this thing about what if they tell you to break God's law. Romans chapter 13 verse 1, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Now, the last part of verse 1 does speak, in my mind, it does speak to this issue that all authority has been placed by God, but there are limitations to that. Let's look at Daniel chapter 2 for a moment. We're going to see the fact that God has placed even the basis of men. We're going to read the Scripture where it talks about that. Daniel chapter 2, and verse 21, and He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings.

That's God's responsibility. He puts people in power. That's His job.

And not everyone He puts in power, obviously, are people that we would consider apostles in the church. But go over to Daniel chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4 and verse 17. Daniel 4, 17.

This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men gives it to whoever He will and sets over at the lowest of men. So yes, God put Stalin in Hitler and Idi Amin and others you can think of in church. Yes, He did. Yes, He did. But as we saw there in the end of Romans 13.1, these people were put in a place of civil authority.

Civil authority. If they go beyond that, then they're going beyond the bounds. God put them in positions of rulership in a civil manner, not in a spiritual manner.

If we turn to Acts chapter 5, we see where that situation occurs, where the government tells the apostles what they should be doing spiritually, which was contrary to what they felt they should be doing spiritually and what the response is. Acts chapter 5 and verse 29. Acts 5, 29. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. We ought to obey God rather than men. When the laws, when the civil government and their laws conflict with God's laws, obviously God's laws have precedent. God's laws always have precedent. When a ruler claims divine rights over an individual, the Christian, the believer, has to say, No, you don't. God is my king. Christ is my king.

When it comes to those matters, I take orders first from them.

And if I've got to pay a penalty, then so be it. I've got to pay a penalty. So here we have a tremendous example in Acts chapter 5 that we obey God rather than men. But we don't always say that, you know, if we get a speeding ticket, the state trooper comes to your window, you roll the window down, you know, you can't look at him and say, Hey, what fella, I'm sorry, I'm a Christian. Get rid of your ticket. No, it doesn't work that way. There's nothing wrong with that law. That law does not go against the laws of God.

It goes against the law of you having a heavy foot, but it doesn't go against the laws of God.

Okay, we go back to Romans chapter 13. Let's move on to verse 2. Romans 13 verse 2.

Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

Citizens of any government should respect their government and obey its laws. Again, we're talking about under, you know, within in view of Acts 5.29, in view of the laws being laws that are proper, that a government puts upon us, we are to respect those laws. We are to honor those laws. Over here in 1 Peter, Peter talks more about this. Let's go over to 1 Peter chapter 2.

1 Peter chapter 2. Because as you and I look at the various scriptures that interact with this concept, we find them very much in agreement. The Bible doesn't contradict itself. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 13. 1 Peter 2.13. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors or to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

So Peter here is talking about various levels of government. We are to be obedient as long as it doesn't conflict with God's law. Verse 15. For this is the will of God. Very plain. This is the will of God that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

We as Christians are to be examples of as lawful people, lawful citizens. We are to set the standard for a new world order. There is a millennium coming. A difference set up all together with Jesus Christ and the saints ruling. We are to be examples of people who are people who are law abiding. People who will live by law. Because if we don't, in any society, if you don't have law, even in Germany we talk about Adolf Hitler. Why did he come to power?

He got the trains running on time. It was really tough if you were a Jew in Europe at that time, but there were other laws that were being kept and it helped the citizenry.

In any society we need law so that you don't have lawlessness, so you don't have chaos, so you don't have people just murdering one another, so you don't have nations just having one another in warfare. Law is needed. Tax is much as we hate it. Taxes are needed.

Here in Michigan we've got some of the worst roads in the world, and we pay some of the highest taxes in this country. I don't know where those tax dollars go, but they certainly don't go on to Interstate 94 or Interstate 75. Sometimes I feel I could lose my car in some of those chuck holes.

But that being what it is, without taxation there would be no public roads. There would be no public transportation. What kind of water system, sewage systems would we have? You know, police departments, fire departments. All these things are needed in a society so that chaos doesn't reign supreme. Let's go back to Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13, we're going to take verses 3, 4, and 5 together. Let's read these together and then comment. Romans 13 verse 3, For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authorities? Well then do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister. You know, the government. He is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience's sake. But also for conscience's sake. Rulers, God has put in place to make sure there isn't worldwide chaos. God loves every human being. God is called every human being to peace, not just we as Christians. Now there's only going to be so much peace in a world that's not governed by God's law or God's spirit. But where possible, God wants people to obey law, so there's not all this chaos that is ruling everywhere. Civil authorities have laws to restrain evil. It's in their society's best interests that people just aren't murdering one another and stealing from one another and making havoc of society. So the rulers are there for the good of people. They are there to maintain a certain level of welfare for the citizenry. And it says there at the very end that the believers are to obey for the sake of conscience. For the sake of conscience. A couple of issues there. A couple of conscience issues there. In verse 5, therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience's sake. In the beginning of verse 5 it says you must be subject not only because of wrath. You don't want the state to come down on your head because you've broken these various laws, but also for conscience's sake.

First, the Christian believers told a God-ordained government and that to resist government equates with resisting God. Equates with resisting God. And that is a principle we need to take a look at. Let's turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 8. First Samuel chapter 8. You know, many years ago we had these scripture cards for memorizing scriptures. This was one of them. Probably need to get back to some of that. First Samuel chapter 8 and verse 7. Israel wants a king. Samuel feels badly about that.

But God has an interesting perspective. First Samuel chapter 8 and verse 7. And the Lord said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. They have rejected me. So we can reject God by rejecting the government. Again, we're not talking about people breaking the law of God.

We just can't be a law unto ourselves. The second area in terms of conscience.

God wants us to have peace of mind. And if we're doing things that are improper in our society, we're not going to have peace of mind. And our conscience is going to be hurting because of what we've done. We're going to be waiting for the authorities to break the door down and come and haul us off and throw us in jail. Let's take a look at Hebrews chapter 10 in this regard.

Hebrews chapter 10, there's a spiritual principle here, but I think it also interplays with what we're talking about on a governmental level. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 22, which says, Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkle from an evil conscience, and our bodies wash with pure water. See, our consciences can be polluted by our actions. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider one another in order to disturb love and good works, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Now, brethren, explicitly this is talking about us as Christians breaking the law of God. But I think there's a parallel understanding here on a physical level. Verse 27, if we break laws, there's a certain fearful expectation of judgment in firing the nation which will devour the adversaries. The same thing is true in society. If we break the laws of society, then we're going to have society coming down on our head. That is not going to give us peace. That is going to hurt our conscience because of what we've been up to. And we certainly don't want that. Okay, let's go back to Romans chapter 13.

Excuse me. Romans chapter 13.

We want to look at verses 6 and 7 here. As I said, these first seven verses talk about our relationship to government. And then verses 8 through 14 talk about love.

Okay, so there's going to be interplay between the two sections. Verse 6, For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. To what very thing? Well, we pay taxes so we have an orderly society. So we have a police force. We've got a fire department. We have the various areas where people are being taken care of.

Verse 7, Render therefore to all there do, taxes to whom taxes are due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. How are we doing on that one? I don't know that I'm doing as well as I'd like to on that one. How many, when it looks in the verse here, when it talks about honor to whom honor, have you always talked about politicians in an honorable way? I don't think I have. Which presidents haven't you liked? Which presidents have you said some things that you would like to kind of bring back? Have we, you know, that's one thing to make a factual statement or make an evaluation. But there are times when perhaps we have made those statements and there's been some real negativity in terms of our attitude. Our attitude has been bent or maybe we are imputing motives that just aren't there. We've got to be very careful for that. But it does say that we, as Christians, are to make sure we pay our taxes, that we are to be properly respectful. Other places in the Bible talk about how we should be praying for the king. You know, if we don't like those who are over us in authority in the government, are we praying for those people? Well, if we're not, maybe then we are doing what we're getting. We're getting what we deserve. As I was looking at this particular section, I was thinking to myself, what kind of taxes were at an extent in the Roman Empire? So I did a little bit of research. They did have an income tax in the Roman Empire.

Their income tax was 1%. Now, I think I could live with that. Now, the problem was that wasn't the end of it. But they did have an income tax, which was 1%. There was also what they called a ground tax, a ground tax. A man had to pay one-tenth of the crops that came out of the ground. Interesting number. One-tenth of the crops. He could either make payment and turn the crops into money, make payment that way, or can actually turn over the crops he harvested, 10%, for the agrarian society. There was also a poll tax. A poll tax is paid by everyone between the ages of 12 and 65. Generally speaking, the poll tax would amount to about one day's wage for the average person in the Empire. So we can see that they had a number of taxes. But also, there were local taxes that had to be paid. There were import and export taxes. There were customs duties.

They were duties and tolls for the roads, for crossing bridges, for entering markets and harbors, for transferring animals. And yes, they even had a tax on their carts and on their wagons.

So I don't know where they put their little sticker on what edge of the bumper of the cart, or if they had their donkey registered or what, but they had something similar to, I mean, government's government. I mean, they're going to find a way to get money out of this, right? And they had their thing. Okay, so chapter 13, verses 1-7 talks about government. We had some background as to why Paul gets into this. It was a very important issue to the church, how we relate to government. Now, starting in verse 8 and going through the rest of the chapter, Paul's going to talk about how love fulfills God's requirements.

Paul was a practical man. Whenever Paul wrote about anything, he always came back to one idea. Let's turn over there in Mark chapter 12. Now, Paul's not writing this in Mark. Mark's writing this in Mark as inspired by God. But Paul would always come back to this issue.

This was foundational for him. Mark chapter 12, verse 29. Mark 12-29.

Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of all of your soul, with all of your mind, with all of your strength. This is the first commandment.

The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. So, no matter what Paul wrote, if he talked about gifts, as he did in Romans chapter 12, the idea is we use those gifts in a loving manner. If he talked about government, as we see here in chapter 13, he talked about how government should be done in a loving manner, and it will be done that way in the world tomorrow. In chapter 14, which we'll get into next time in Romans, Romans chapter 14 talks about personal conviction. Well, there, you know, you don't want to be a pill to other people, other believers, but you do want to act in a loving manner with whatever your personal convictions are. You know, in this room, we've got some people who will go to a restaurant on a Sabbath, and some people who won't. People have their convictions, and either direction we need to be loving people about that. There are other convictions people would have, even about, let's say, what we eat and what we don't eat. You know, we all believe in dietary laws, but, you know, we have taught for years that some of these supplements that people take, whether it be whatever, you know, you can have a supplement that's a little white pill now, if you examine it, they'll say, and about, well, that's made with clam shells.

Well, we've taught for years and years, and we've got letters that we don't consider that being unclaimed. We don't consider that being unclaimed, because that has been so refined and refined. That's no longer a lobster. It's no longer a pig or anything like that. It's been refined to the place where it's a little white pill, and you're not eating lobster. You're not eating pork. Now, some people have a conscience issue with that, and that's fine. Other people will not have a conscience issue with that, and that's fine. So the idea is, whatever we're doing, we want to do so in a loving manner. So let's go back to Romans 13, verse 8.

Oh, no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Oh, no one anything except to love one another. Is Paul talking about him being against banks? Is he against people who are owning a house? Is he talking about not being able to own a car, have a mortgage, or a car payment, or a school loan? What's Paul talking about here?

Well, I think Paul literally is talking about debt. In the first segment of verse 8, he is literally talking about debt. Brethren, in our society today, we have people, and it's not uncommon anymore to know of people who have got credit card bills in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars.

I guess the one most egregious case I've heard of is somebody had over $100,000 in credit card debt.

Now, how do you get that? I don't understand how a person gets there. I don't understand how they can keep on getting credit cards and max them out like that, where they get that, unless they just go out and buy a whatever, you know, just all in a matter of a few days, and a credit card company is just not a... I just don't know how you get that level of debt. I just don't. But that's the kind of debt that Paul's talking about. Paul's talking about the kind of debt that we get into where we know we're never going to pay it off, and we get into it anyway. That's basically stealing.

When we take something on credit and we say, you know what, when it gets bad enough, I'll just declare bankruptcy. That's theft. That doesn't work. Now, is it wrong to have a house and have a 30-year mortgage? Of course not. That's an investment. Is it wrong to have a car and have a four-year, three- or four- or five-year car payment? Of course not, because you have something that you're using to go to work, go to church, and so forth. Is it wrong to... it's not unusual for people who go to the medical field. They graduate from college and they've got, you know, $150,000, $200,000 in college bills. Is there something wrong with that? Well, of course not, because they're getting something. They're getting a tool. They're getting an education, and they will be paying those things back. It will take them time. Just like with your house or your car, you intend to pay those back. There's no problem with that. But if we get to the place where we are simply going to take something for nothing with the idea, well, I'll just run it up, and then when things get really bad, they declare bankruptcy. That's not where God wants us to be.

As a matter of fact, look over here at Matthew 5.

Here is someplace Jesus Christ said He wants us to be. Matthew 5.

Jerry was talking about who owns a Moffat Bible, who owns a parallel Bible. I own them both. Mr. Armstrong liked the Moffat translation so much because in his day, that was one of the few that was available. The Moffat translation, the Fenton translation, there were very few modern translations available in Mr. Armstrong's day when he first began studying the truth. Of course, as he lived longer and longer, more and more became available. But in my Bible here, my Nelson's New King James, it's a red letter, and verse 42, Matthew 5.42 is all read.

Give to him who asks of you, and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

Do not turn away. So God wants us to be in a position of being able to give and to serve.

But, brethren, every statement, it seems, anymore has to be qualified and what have you, because even here, as a church pastor, we have a bank account here locally. Mr. Weckerle and Annette run to take care of our local account over in Ann Arbor. I've got people who take care of the account over there. Every year, we allot so much money for assistance.

If people need a furnace goes out, or they need a bag of groceries or something like that, we can write a check. And we're delighted to do that. We're not a bank. We're not Chase Manhattan or something like that. We can handle small things, a few things at a time. But on the other hand, there are times I won't write a check. Verse 42 talks about, to him who wants to bow, don't turn away. Well, sometimes we do turn people away. And we don't do it because we're going against the Bible. When you take the totality of the Bible and you look at everything in terms of the context, there are the scriptures that say, hey, look, if a person will not take care of his own family, he's worth it than an infidel. And over the years, I've known people in various places I've pastored where they're alcoholic. They take whatever money you give them, and they'll put it into booze. They say, oh, Mr. D., I have needed money. My mortgage payment, I don't have enough for my mortgage payment. Well, where'd that money go? You're working. Where'd that money go? Or they've been gambling or what have you. Well, where'd that money go? Well, depending upon what people are doing with their money, I don't know that I can always help people. Because I'm not a lawyer.

Because I'm not helping them at that point. I'm hurting them at that point. And certainly, God would respect that decision along those lines. Okay, so we go back to Romans 13, verse 8.

It says here, O no one, anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Here is something where we always should have a great abundance of, and that is love, toward our brothers and sisters. Not just in the church, but our brothers and sisters all around the world. The human family. We owe, you know, just as Jesus Christ loves us, and we are to emulate Jesus Christ, we are to love one another. And we always have that debt to one another. We see that in the second Great Commandment.

But put a marker there in Romans. Let's look over here at John chapter 13.

John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35. John 13 verse 34. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you.

The Bible is always talking about loving one another, but here we've got the amplification of loving as Christ loved. Well, Christ gave everything for human beings. That you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Some people think that the sign of our discipleship is that we've got a tremendous chart, a beast chart, back at home. We know all the ramifications of prophecy. We play golf with the beast. You know, we've got the social security number of the false prophet. No. It's not even a matter of faith. It's a matter you and I will be judged by how much love we have for one another. How much love we have for one another. That is the acid test.

That is a debt we always will have. Okay, we go back now to Romans. Time is fleeting here.

Romans 13, verse 9. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet. If there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Are the Ten Commandments Done Away? Paul doesn't think so. He quotes them right here. A number of them right here. He quotes the ones dealing with our neighbor. Earlier in verse 8 he talked about the debt we owe toward our neighbor. And that debt is to love our neighbor.

Obviously, the other commandments that talk about loving God, those certainly aren't done away.

Why would we do away with those commandments about loving God? None of the commandments are being done away here. I would like you to turn over to Leviticus chapter 19.

Here you have one of the very first books of the Bible, Leviticus. Leviticus is a book talking about holiness. And it was written to a people who did not in general have access to God's Holy Spirit. But the book is about holiness. Notice what it says in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18. Leviticus 19, 18. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

From the very beginning of time, it's always been God's desire that we love one another.

We love our neighbor as ourself. Notice earlier in that verse, we are not to be a grudge. Brother, this touches on spiritual issues. A grudge is something of a hardened mind.

It has always been God's desire that we people on planet earth live by the spirit of the law of God.

But because God is such a great teacher, he said, okay, we're going to show you that just trying to do it physically, you can't do that on your own. So God gives us the Old Testament. By and large, most people didn't have use of God's Holy Spirit. Now, the prophets, some of the kings, others did, but in relationship, very few. God wanted people to learn, you simply can't keep my righteous, holy, spiritual law physically on your own. But here from the very beginning, God says, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And who is your neighbor? Who is your neighbor?

Who is your neighbor? You know, a few months ago, we went through a good many of the parables.

And one of the parables was the parable of the Good Samaritan. You remember the story. There's a man beaten, robbed as he traveled. He's laying on the side of the road. Two Jews come past him, one being a Levite, one being a priest. They don't attend to this man's injuries. These are religious guys. They were high up in society as religious guys. They're supposed to set an example. They didn't come near the person who was hurt. But then there was a Samaritan. Who were the Samaritans? Well, these are people that when the northern tribes went into captivity, other peoples were brought in to take up the difference. These Gentile peoples came in, they intermingled with the Jewish people, they became the Samaritans. Now, true, full-blooded Israelites looked down their nose at these people who were not fully Jewish, not fully a part of the country. They were outsiders. And yet it was the Samaritan, not the Levite, not the priest, it was the Samaritan who went over and tended to the wounds of the man who was laying on the ground. And so the idea, who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is not just the person next door or across the street. Our neighbor can be of any race, any creed, any social background, and we are to love those people, all people.

Don't love their sin, but we love the people. Okay, we go back now to Romans. Romans chapter 10.

Romans chapter 13 verse 10, excuse me, Romans chapter 13 verse 10, where it says, Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Love does no harm. Does no harm. It's always not just a matter of what we do.

God wants to tell us how to properly think. I mean, what do we read back there in Romans chapter 12? We need to, let's go back there for a moment, Romans chapter 12, verse 1, I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. God wants our minds to be renewed. He wants us to think differently. So we go back now to Romans chapter 13 verse 10, where it's talking about doing no harm. It's not just a matter of what we do. It's a matter of the way we think toward our neighbor, the way we think toward our neighbor. We don't, we, God doesn't want us to think evil toward our neighbor. He doesn't want us to wish calamity upon our neighbor.

He doesn't want us to plan or devise anything negative against our neighbor.

And if we want to take it one step further, God doesn't want us to withhold good from our neighbor.

Because if we withhold good, that also could be something that is unloving, un-Christ-like. We go over here to Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 3.

Proverbs chapter 3 verse 27.

Proverbs 3, 27, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.

Now, there may be cases where you simply are powerless to do something for somebody.

But it says here, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, Go and come back, and tomorrow I'll give it, when you have it with you. Don't put off doing the good. If you can do it, do it. Don't put it off. Don't quibble about it. Don't say to yourself, I don't know, that person insulted me the other day. Maybe I'll just let them stew in their own juices. No. Do not say to your neighbor, Go and come back, and tomorrow I'll give it, when you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. We are our brother's keeper. We are to be a safety net, one for another. When it says about us loving one another, it's even a part of the way we think toward one another. Over here in the book of James, James chapter 2, here we've got the brother of Jesus Christ, the half-brother of Jesus Christ. Again, talking about the way we think, and how improper thinking can be sin when it comes to loving our neighbor. James chapter 2, verse 8, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. If you show partiality, in my Bible in the center of reference, it says if you receive faces. If you respect people, if you'll do for this one but not the other one, well, that's a matter of sin. That's a matter of not being loving. So we can omit doing the right thing, or we can think the wrong thing and still be sinning in terms of the way we respond to our brothers and sisters in the world. Okay, let's move on. Time's running here. Romans chapter 13, verse 11. Romans 13, 11, And do this, knowing the time that now is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed.

Brethren, how are we doing with this? Do we have a sense of urgency? Where are we at in our walk with God right now? Are you morally prepared the way you should be for the return of Jesus Christ?

Or do you and I dabble in our hearts and minds with things we shouldn't be dabbling with? Are we morally prepared? Are we spiritually alert?

Do you know what's happening in your life spiritually? Are you being overcome? Do you wonder why things are happening to you? You really don't have a clue. Is that because we are kind of lulled asleep spiritually? Are we diligently serving? Are we diligently serving?

Now, maybe we don't serve in a church like we'd like to. Maybe the possibilities are there as not as great as we'd like. But you know, brethren, there's other ways we can serve.

You go to a restaurant this evening, you can open a door for somebody. You can pay the the waitress or the waiter a well-deserved compliment. You just never know how you can serve. I think I've made mention here, not that I'm trying to say something about myself, but I remember one time going into a fast food place and the young lady was waiting on me, had a horrible complexion. And I relate to that because when I was a kid, I had a horrible complexion. Just really bad. When I was growing up, there's a lot of times I didn't want to walk out of the house. I know how that feels. But you know, the little thing that was waiting on me was actually an attractive young lady and she had a tremendously beautiful smile. And so I remarked about her smile.

And I finished my lunch, went out to the car. She had finished her break and she was going out to her car. I just happened to look over and I saw her looking in her rear-view mirror at her smile.

So, you know, there are so many ways that we can serve people that we never think about.

Are we diligently serving? Are we spiritually alert? Are we morally prepared? Because, as it says here, the time is now. Moving on to verse 12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

When it talks here in verse 12, the night is far spent. Talking about the 6,000 years of human history, it's almost up. The night, this darkness that we're in, it's almost up. The day is at hand.

What day? The day of the return of Jesus Christ. A time of tremendous light-bringing. It's almost here.

Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.

I don't have time, but in your notes you might want to jot down Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 17. Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 17, talking about the armor of God. It is an armor of light. Years ago, Len Martin gave an interesting sermon about how we are to be points of light in a very dark world. He used an example of something that happened in his life, like many people do, where he used to live here in Michigan. He had an outdoor light. It was like a chandelier coming down from an overhang near his front door, the front door to his home.

And the previous evening he had had company. He had turned the light on so they'd know which house they'd come to. But when the company left, he forgot to turn the light off. Now, the next day, he didn't notice that the light was on because it was daylighted. You know, you just couldn't tell.

But as it got darker and darker, you know, he looked out. He was sitting in his living room, I think. He looked out, oh, I didn't turn that thing off. But as it got darker and darker, more and more things were illuminated by that light that was left on.

The darker it got, the more that light meant something.

Brother, we live in a very dark age. And the light you bring because of the Spirit of God in you means something. It means a great deal. So let us be people of light and put on the armor of light.

Verse 13, Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry in drunkenness, not in lewdness, lust, and strife, and envy. Again, we're called to be people of the light.

And lastly, verse 14, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

Brother, how do you and I put on Jesus Christ? Well, I can probably give any number of sermons on that subject. Let me give you a very, very brief, since we only have a couple of minutes here, give you a very brief overview. And again, this could probably have 50, 60 points to it.

So don't think that what I'm about to give you is the end all. But how do we put on Christ? Well, first thing we have to do, we've got to be committed to Christ. We show that by being baptized. Again, I'm not going to turn to the Scripture. You might want to jot down in your notes Galatians 3 and verse 27.

We need to be committed to Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we want to be committed to the lifestyle that Jesus Christ talked about and preached.

We are to be full of love and humility and truth and service.

We see that discussed over in Ephesians 4, verses 22-24. We want to be a new man, a new woman in Christ. There's a whole different lifestyle, way of thinking that comes on board. Thirdly, we want to continue training in our spiritual pursuits. We want to know more about the Bible. We want to know more about God the Father and Jesus Christ through our prayer life, through our meditation, through our fellowship with fellow believers. And as we see more of Christ in them, we understand things better. We want continued training. We see that in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 15. It talks about how we are to be workmen in the Scriptures.

I simply don't have time to quote other scriptures. We would talk about the other spiritual disciplines there. And lastly, we've already read it. Over in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, we have to have a complete revolution in our minds, because that's where it all starts.

We obey God first in our hearts and our minds. That is where the battle line is first drawn.

We need to make sure our hearts and minds are where God would have them to be. So, brethren, today we've gone through Romans chapter 13. Next time, next month, we'll go through chapter 14. And the month after, we'll go through chapter 15.

Many, many months ago, I went through chapter 16 with another sermon, so I won't be going through that again. We've only got two more sessions with Romans. Then we're going to get into something else. If you have an idea where you would like me to go with these once-a-month studies, let me know. Right now, I'm leaning heavily toward starting a long process of going through the book of Deuteronomy.